


Little Mysteries III, or Coyote Meets the Selkie

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-27
Updated: 2006-03-27
Packaged: 2019-02-02 18:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12732153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: You should read "Little Mysteries, The Colonel and the Selkie" first, to understand the alternate reality. Daniel takes Jack camping and hiking in Arizona for a vacation after a particularly grueling rescue operation in which Jack had been injured and two of his extended team had died. Some of the Native American Little Mysteries sense the intruding presence of the selkie in their domain, and come calling.





	Little Mysteries III, or Coyote Meets the Selkie

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

  
Author's notes: No selkies or American Little Mysteries were hurt during the writing of this story.  


* * *

Daniel looked up from his journal when Jack grunted as he restlessly switched positions in their combined sleeping bags. The smells of sage and sorrel blew on the night wind in the southwest desert they camped in, and Daniel took in a deep breath of it as he waited until his lover settled back down. The warm smell of the fire and its welcoming light lit the archeologist's face as he watched what he could see of O'Neill under the covers. 

/This is the first night Jack has managed to sleep deeply since he was hurt. Maybe he's finally getting it out of his system. I sure hope so. His nightmares are beginning to give *me* nightmares!/

Feeling a little guilty for his self-pitying thoughts, Daniel decided to take a little walk away from the fire. Despite the fact that they were alone out here, the selkie's extra-perceptive senses made him feel like they were being watched. He also sensed that whatever watched them wasn't inimical to them, for some reason.

Away from the light of the fire, Daniel looked up in awe at the desert starscape. The stars were so bright, it was almost as if he could reach out from here and touch them. He raised his hand as though to do so, realized his folly, and smilingly dropped it back to his side.

It was then that he saw the coyote.

It stood about ten feet away from him, the moon highlighting its fur and making it shine like burnished gold. Bright brown eyes watched him, the gleam in them reminding him of Jack's eyes when he was in a playful mood, for some odd reason.

"Well. Hello there." Daniel said quietly, expecting the dog-like creature to tuck tail and run at the sound of his voice.

The furry head quirked to the side as though it was listening to him talk, and it barked sharply. A flutter to the right and up higher brought Daniel's eyes away and to the sequoia cactus that stood next to the coyote. A dark shape was outlined in the night and perched on the cactus; the only things visible were its round yellow eyes. The eyes appeared to glow in bodiless animosity as it stared at the selkie.

"Hello there, too. A desert owl. I thought you guys were all extinct by now."

"There are a few of the feathered brothers and sisters left, though they hide from the cruelties of man."

Daniel looked over to the source of the deep voice. Instead of a coyote, there now stood a rough-looking little old man, who stared at Daniel with the same bright malicious eyes of the coyote. On its shoulder perched a raven whose beady eyes watched the selkie closely.

/I've heard of these, they have to be the Desert Mysteries! They must have recognized my selkie blood and decided to come calling./

Daniel held his hands out to his side in a universal sign of peace. "My cousins mostly hide as well, they grow tired of losing loved ones to the landbound. Since I'm half human, I chose to walk the land and study the cultures of my father's ancient forbearers. My name is Daniel, by the way."

Ignoring the archeologist's offer of his name, the small man continued his interrogation. "You are far from your cold wet home, water spirit. Why do you walk these sands where you do not belong?"

"I brought my love here for healing. I am an archeologist who loves the deserts of the world. I felt this would be the best place to heal his wounded spirit."

"The mortal is a warrior, his spirit shines with the stink of bloodshed and bright fears. We felt him and you as soon as you entered our place. We have watched you as you traveled the Lands."

"We mean you no harm."

The coyote-man smiled, his teeth brown and pointy. "Shall we go to the fire and share some sacred smoke? Perhaps we can learn things from each other."

"Will your companions show your man-forms to me first? I would know who I parlay with."

The owl jumped down from the sequoia and landed as a wizened old woman with evil yellow eyes. The raven fluttered down into a beautiful Native American woman with the bright eyes of a crow.

"Come back with me to the fire, and let us talk of important things." Daniel spoke in the singsong tones of ancient Navajo. 

"It is good. We will come." Coyote fell in beside Daniel as they returned to the campsite. "You speak our tongue well, considering that it has not been spoken in the land of men for many years."

Daniel ducked his head, embarrassed at the complement. "I am a student of languages as well as an archeologist. I have always found your tongue to be pleasing not only to my ears, but my spirit as well. I spent some time on the reservation of the People, and a wise and ancient shaman taught me their ancient tongue. I considered it a great honor."

"As it was. You honor his memory, this teacher of yours." 

They had arrived at the fire. Daniel sat on the side farthest from Jack, not wanting to wake him.

"We must speak quietly so as to not disturb my friend. This is the first night of peace he's had for a while."

"He stinks of mortality, that one does." Hissed the wizened owl- crone, her yellow eyes glaring towards Jack.

"Yes. He nearly died saving the lives of two innocent humans. He lost two friends during this rescue, and his spirit is greatly troubled. He blames himself."

The maiden said in a sweet voice, "You love him well, this human, with both your mortal half and your spirit half. Does he know what you are?"

"Yes, he knows of my heritage. Jack is my life. Without him, even the warm sun would seem as cold as the ice-ridden seas from which my mother's ancestors were spawned."

They were all sitting around in a loose circle by now. Coyote scratched his pointy ear under his battered cowboy hat, then reached in a tattered pocket of his plaid shirt and took out a home-rolled cigarette. A wave of his hand caused the tip to flare, and the sharp smell of tobacco came to Daniel. After the desert man inhaled deeply, he passed the cigarette to the archeologist. Daniel took it, breathed the smoke in deeply, and passed it to Raven. He fought down a cough, finally blowing the harsh stuff out into the air. This ritual was one the anthropologist in him recognized. The sharing of sacred smoke was a sign of truce among people who could have been enemies. More like not-friends than true enemies, actually.

"You know well this world of men, Daniel?"

"Yes. I have studied cultures for many years, some still living and some long dead."

"Our kind here in the Lands stay among ourselves or walk among the spirit paths more and more. The harsh stinks of metal and man filth do not appeal to us. Fewer and fewer of the man-things believe in us as the years pass. Even less believe in the spirit paths." The old woman-owl spoke, bitterness clear among the ancient Navajo words.

"Yes. So it is with the Little Mysteries that are my mother's kin as well. A few of us stay in the land of men by choice. Some help protect the sea from those that would harm it. I study the culture and history of mankind in order to know it well."

The three beings looked at each other as though they conversed telepathically. Finally Raven spoke up.

"Would you consider helping us, Water-Child, with your knowledge of both worlds? So many of us have withdrawn from the land of men that we have encountered a crisis for which we are not well-equipped to deal any more."

Blue eyes studied his visitors, looking for any sign that these land Mysteries meant him harm. The anthropologist sorted through various stories in his mind, realizing that all three of these beings were known for their capricious and often unkind behavior to mankind. Despite their reputations, it wasn't in the selkie to turn down helping those in need, and after a slight hesitation, Daniel answered. "If Jack and I can be of help, we will be happy to assist you."

"Your man-half grows fatigued, Water-Child. Sleep, now, and in the morning we will discuss our business in more detail." The old crone said to the selkie with the imperiousness of extreme age in her voice. Owl was obviously used to being obeyed.

Right on cue and as though she had conjured his sleepiness up from out of the air, Daniel yawned. "Will you be there when I wake? Owls do not normally travel in the light of the sun."

Owl grinned, her beaked nose seeming to jut less as she did. She still looked like a skeleton with parched skin stretched over a skull, and the smile only augmented the illusion. "I am not just an owl, and can move around in the sun's light as I wish. I will be here when you awaken, youngling."

Daniel nodded at them all and headed over to the sleeping bags and Jack. He toed off his shoes and slipped inside next to his lover's warm body. O'Neill, as if this was the last thing he had been waiting for, slipped even deeper into slumber once his lover was close. The selkie dropped into sleep as though it was the cold embrace of the ocean, sensing no danger from the Desert Mysteries. They had quickly disappeared like smoke into the darkness to go about their business.

* * *

Daniel woke to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. The bright desert sun was shining into his eyes, and he quickly found and put on his prescription sunglasses.

"Jack?"

His lover came over and squatted low in front of the sleeping bags. He held an aluminum cup of coffee in his hands and had a smile on his face and in warm brown eyes.

/His hair's turning gray so fast nowadays. It's hard to imagine Jack as getting old, but this last job was enough to start the process well on its way./

"Coffee?"

"Thanks." Daniel took the offering and, ignoring the heat of it, drank it right down.

"It's a wonder you don't burn out your esophagus, not letting it cool before you drink it like that, Danny."

"That's why you let it cool before you give it to me." He handed the empty cup back to Jack. "More, please."

"I'm in the middle of making flapjacks, so if you don't want breakfast burnt, you'd better get up and get it yourself, sleepy-head"

"Okay."

Just as the two of them were eating some rather overcooked pancakes, the three Desert Mysteries showed up in their human forms.

Jack stared at the three Native Americans, who had appeared as if by magic. They didn't look dangerous, but the Colonel slipped into protector mode automatically. Eyes narrowed in cautious assessment, he asked his calm lover, "Daniel, do you know these people?"

"They're three of the Desert Mysteries, Jack. Meet Coyote, Owl, and Raven. This is my partner, Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Jack duly admired the pretty and half-naked Raven, finally acknowledging the two elders respectfully.

Coyote came up and sat down beside the Colonel, reaching out with nimble fingers to snatch a pancake from the human man's plate.

"Hey, that's my breakfast you're stealing!"

"Let him have it, Jack."

"Sheesh! Hell, you might as well take the rest of it." He handed Coyote his plate. 

Daniel could see that Jack wasn't really mad about the mooching. After all, Coyote looked like a half-starved homeless elderly man, and his lover had a heart made of putty inside his tough military exterior. That was why the selkie had fallen for him so hard, if the truth be told.

After Coyote had gleefully gobbled his stolen breakfast, the three spirits sat in a circle around Daniel and Jack. All of them turned their odd eyes on O'Neill, assessing him as the weak link between him and the selkie.

"Daniel, what's going on?"

"In case you haven't already figured it out, these three are similar to my family, Jack. They're spirits of the land, of these desert lands, actually, and they need our help."

Jack eyed the spirits with much the same expression as they had used on him. "You all can change into animals?"

Coyote nodded, his dark eyes twinkling.

"Show me."

Owl took exception to the Colonel's request. "We are not here to put on a show for no man-folk!"

The Colonel's eyes narrowed as he tried to stare the small old lady down. Fat chance, though, that Jack could win a staring match with a being as ancient as this one was. "Daniel says that you have need of our help. I like to know the capabilities and the personalities of whoever I'm dealing with. Show me."

"Oh, very well!"

Owl didn't even get to her feet. In a blurred transition, the human became owl and flew to a nearby boulder and perched on it. Yellow eyes blinked solemnly then she flew down and metamorphosed back into the old crone.

"Are you satisfied, son of man?"

"Yes, thank you. Just call me Jack, Ancient Mother. How can we help?"

Daniel gaped at his lover in surprise. Jack had used the correct term of respect for Owl, as translated from ancient Navajo.

His lover looked over at Daniel's stupefied expression. "What?" 

"You used the correct Navajo honorific, Jack."

"My great-grandmother was half Navajo, Daniel. She told my grandmother all the stories of the tribal spirits, and Gran passed them on to me when I was a kid."

Coyote grinned his predator's smile. "This one is indeed a warrior of strength and cunning, Water-Child. I missed the faint smell of the People coming from him, so hidden is it among the white man's pollution." He turned to Jack. "Jack, I believe that you and your Daniel can indeed help us with our little problem."

"Tell us what you need, Honored Trickster, and let me be the judge of what we can or can't do. But let no tricks cross your mind to catch us up, for ever is your nature prone to such. Give your word that you will stay your hand, or we go no further."

Jack's singsong comments had the touch of ritualism about them, and Daniel wondered if this was some kind of limiting spell or something.

Coyote clapped once, grinning in glee. "The ways of the People are known to you, little brother. We agree to the ancient limits you have put us under. No harm will come to you or your lover through trickster games."

Jack nodded. "Now tell us what's going on."

"The Lands are a part of all of us, their health maintains ours. In the same sense, when the land is sick, those of us who are a part of it weaken as well. My brother spirit, Eagle, is the caretaker of this section of the Lands. Several months ago, he started weakening. There is a blight upon this place of power, one that we do not know the cause or the solution for."

"Could you be a little more specific, Honored Trickster? Where is the blight?" 

Coyote waved his hand and the ground in the center of the circle they were sitting in began to change. Miniature landscapes shifted while the others looked on.

"It's a map! Jack, do you see it?" The archeologist smiled up at his lover, his eyes shining. "See that bump there? It's a symbol of one of the sacred mountains of the Navajo!"

Jack smiled a bit at Daniel's enthusiasm. "Yeah, I see it, Danny." Jack pointed to a flat surface. "We're here, right?"

"Yes. The blight is here, on the north face of Doko'oosliid, one of the sacred mountains of the People. Strange happenings are occurring there. It is nothing we have ever seen before. It is as though a part of one of the spirit paths is leaking into the real world."

"Where is, um, Eagle? Why didn't he come with you to ask us for help?" Daniel asked them.

"Eagle is very ill from that which has invaded his domain. He grows weaker as the blot grows larger, engulfing more of the Lands by each setting of the sun. Two days ago, Eagle tried to close the tearing into his land, but was severely weakened in doing so. His effort merely slowed its growth."

Jack spoke decisively. "We must speak to the Mighty Flyer. He has knowledge we need to help you."

Owl glared at Jack. "Eagle mislikes men-folk. He will not see you."

Jack glared back at the old lady. "He will, or we will not help. I'm not taking Daniel into danger without some info to work with."

Again the two stubborn beings stared at each other. This time, though, it was Owl who gave in first. "I will go to Eagle and request that he see you." 

The old lady turned into the owl and flew off into the sunlight. Within a few minutes she was back, with a very patchy bald eagle flying next to her. The eagle looked like someone had taken chunks out of its feathers, those that weren't singed, that is.

Jack saw the condition of the large bird as it flew nearer, and mumbled, "Geez, he looks really bad."

"Yeah. From the stiff way he's flying, Eagle's in a lot of pain." Daniel looked over at Coyote. "Is he dying?"

"If his land continues to be swallowed up, Eagle will die. As will we all when it happens to our lands. Not to mention all the humans who will die if this spreads into the man-places."

The two flyers landed, metamorphosing into their human forms. Eagle looked like a young native American man, with the exception of his eyes. Eagle had yellow eyes that contained the cold razor-sharp expression of the fiercest bird of prey in the world. Daniel felt a little like a tit-mouse that had been targeted for dinner under that gaze. Despite that, he noticed that there was a noticeable pallor of illness about the Desert Mystery.

Jack didn't drop his eyes as he came up to the Desert Mystery. "Mighty Hunter. These others have asked us for help with your problem. I refused to agree until we talked with you first."

"I do not like talking with your kind, man-child. You have made me angry by insisting that I do so."

O'Neill glared right back at the beak-nosed man. "And I will not lead my lover into danger until I know all there is to know about the situation."

Scary yellow eyes glanced over to Daniel. Jack noticed that the being's expression changed upon gazing at his lover from distaste to surprise, finally stopping at admiration. The Colonel didn't like the way Eagle looked at his Danny at all.

Finally, Eagle turned back to Jack, a little more respect showing on the being's face. "I, too, would protect such a lover from harm as though he was the last chick in my nest, man-child. I understand your request better now. Let us sit, and I will tell you my story."

/I see Eagle is almost as protective as Jack, but really! They act like I'm some kind of babe in the woods who can't protect myself./

The six of them walked back to the now almost burned-out fire, sitting down in a rough circle around it. Coyote pulled the inevitable cigarette from his hat and they shared sacred smoke. Only after this was done did Eagle tell his story.

"The Lands have suffered from the depredations of the man-things. But despite this, they have remained strong. At the same time, so have the spirits of the Lands thrived. About two months ago, I felt a sharp tear in my body as though it had been ripped or torn asunder. I went to find out what had happened, and what I found is like nothing I have seen in this world before."

"I saw that the spirit paths have breached the barriers that protect this world from them. I felt the presence of an old enemy of the People behind this rift."

"Old enemy?" Jack asked.

Raven took up the narrative. In her sweet voice, she told them about the ancient evil. "When Grandmother Toad created the Land and its spirits, the universe became jealous of her creating abilities. It decided to create its own slave, someone who would spread chaos and darkness among the light. That is how Bat came to be. Dark and foul, this creature strove to undo what Grandmother had done. We have done battle with Bat before, but we can never kill him, nor he us. We only managed to banish him to walk the spirit paths."

Eagle continued. "Bat grew in his hatred of us and the Lands, wallowing in his darkness and growing stronger. Finally he came up with an idea on how to destroy what Grandmother Toad has created. Our kind has the ability to manipulate and change the spirit paths, as well as the Lands. Bat took a piece of one of the most dangerous spirit worlds, manipulated it, and forced it to expand into this world. It took great bouts of energy to do so, and it warped this section of the path into something dark and evil while doing it. Now this place has become like a devouring cancer in this world. It is spreading rapidly, taking these Lands into itself. I tried to close the rift between the worlds, but I was not strong enough to do so."

"What can one human and one half-selkie do to stop this, when you could not?" Daniel asked.

Owl spoke to answer the archeologist. "Together and bound by love as the two of you are, you have more than the normal human and water- spirit's power. Your selkie blood, Daniel, combined with Jack's Navajo ancestry and his knowledge of tactics and war, have created a power greater than, yet similar to, one of the mightiest shamans of the People in ancient times. That ability, when guided by a talisman of great power provided by us, will enable you to do what we have not managed. You will be able to vanquish Bat and close the rift between the two worlds."

Daniel spoke his misgivings. "But even if we managed to do so, how would we return from the spirit world? We don't have the knowledge to navigate the spirit paths to find our way back."

Eagle looked at the selkie, his sharp gaze softening again in a way that again raised Jack's hackles. Daniel was *his*, and this uppity birdman had better not get any ideas. "I will go with you, Water- Child, and guide you to where you must go, then guide you home again if you are still alive after the struggle is completed."

"No offense, Mighty flyer, but you look almost done in to me. Will you have the strength to help us?"

The dark gaze turned to the Colonel, all softness disappearing. "I have the strength to do what must be done, man-child. Even in my weakness, I have more strength than you have ever seen in your pitifully short life."

"Hey, just wait a minute here..."

Daniel's gentle voice broke into O'Neill's bluster. "Jack, Eagle, now isn't the time for head-butting. There's too much at stake. If Eagle says he can do this, Jack, then I believe him."

Surprisingly, both males quieted down at the selkie's words, only exchanging a final glare between them.

Coyote glanced over at Owl. They had never heard of anyone, let alone someone with human blood, able to shut the prideful Eagle up like that. That this halfling Water-Child was able to do it with so little effort made them much more optimistic about these three beings' chance of success. 

Daniel continued. "Jack, my only concern is your injury. You're barely healed. Do you think you can handle what could be a very dangerous mission?"

"I'm fine, Danny. I've completely healed, and this trip has let me get my strength back. Trust me, if I wasn't up for it, I wouldn't agree to go." He turned to the Desert Mysteries. "Can we take weapons into the spirit paths?"

"Only knives can be taken, no other weapons will work while traveling the paths. And no knives made of iron, either. We can provide you with knives that will be potent weapons in the spirit lands."

"Only knives? Against one of the Desert Mysteries?" Jack was worried, and he glanced at Daniel to see what his lover thought of the poor odds they'd be facing.

Daniel bowed his head as a sign of respect to Eagle. "We bow to your vast experience with these lands. If you feel that knives will protect us and enable us to have success in this undertaking, then that is all we will carry."

/Sheesh! Danny may trust these guys, but I'm not sure I do, Gran's stories notwithstanding./

As though sensing his lover's concerns, Daniel reached over and took Jack's hand. "We can trust them, Jack. I'd be able to sense it if they were steering us wrongly."

"You doubt my honor, Human?" Eagle glared at O'Neill, anger flaring in the dark face. 

Jack's eyes narrowed as he heard the threat in Eagle's voice. This spirit creature was known as one of the most dangerous and capricious of the bunch. To mess with Eagle was a risk at best. But he needed Jack, and that put the power balance right smack into O'Neill's human hands.

"I'm a professional soldier, Eagle, and it's my job to doubt everything. That's how I've stayed alive so long. As I've said before, I will not risk Daniel's life casually without knowing the capabilities of our allies."

Daniel had had enough of this over-protectiveness. "Jack, Eagle, I can handle myself, you know. And I do have the wit to assess the situation on my own. I don't like you two intimating that I'm some kind of babe in the woods who can't protect myself. I'll pull my weight, thank you!"

Eagle and O'Neill looked up in matching surprise at the archeologist's pissy words.

"Daniel I..."

"Water-Child I..."

"No, don't lie and pretend you don't see me as the weak link! I'm not stupid."

The other Desert Mysteries held their collective breaths, waiting for the prideful Eagle to explode in rage at being called a liar. Instead, he surprised them by smiling widely.

"Peace, Daniel. I see the strength that lies coiled within your spirit. I will not doubt you again."

Daniel turned to Jack, his blue eyes not softening much as he looked upon his annoying lover.

"Jack?"

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry for wanting to protect you, Danny. But I am sorry if I acted like I underestimated your contribution to any team. I don't."

Daniel leaned over and kissed Jack's lips lightly as a reward for the Colonel's admission. Jack took his lover's hand and turned to the Desert Mysteries.

"Okay. Are we gonna do this thing, or not?"

* * *

The four Desert Mysteries surrounded Jack and Daniel and started chanting.

"I think they're facing the four sacred directions, Jack." Daniel whispered, his excitement at viewing a sacred ritual obvious.

"What are their sacred directions, Daniel? Gran never mentioned them."

"North, South, East, and West."

"What? What's so sacred about those?"

"Shh. I'll explain later. Something's happening!"

The four spirits stopped chanting and clapped with a loud yell, causing Jack to start at the noise.

"Shit! For crying..."

Suddenly all of them found themselves in a formless grayscape. There was no earth underneath them, yet they stood on something hard nevertheless. Whatever they were in felt like it was moving in an uncontrolled fashion, like an elevator that had lost its control line.

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Jack. "Don't you say this is fascinating, Daniel, or I'm gonna crack you!"

Daniel's blue eyes narrowed in challenge. "Well, it is certainly interesting."

Jack's brown eyes glared at his lover. "You just had to say something, didn't ya?"

At that moment the grayness around them disappeared, and they were in the sunny Arizona desert again. But this time, they stood at the foot of a majestic mountain.

"Where are we?"

Raven answered. "This is Doko'oosliid, or Abalone Shell Mountain in your tongue. This is our sacred mountain, which borders the Lands to the west. This is Eagle's domain, and is where the breach into the spirit realm is located. Once you are armed, you will climb up that slope and see the abomination that is destroying our world."

"Armed. And how are we going about doing that?" Jack asked.

Coyote drew out a knife from each pocket of his grubby jeans and handed them to Daniel and Jack.

O'Neill looked down at the knife he held. It was about five inches in length from hilt to tip. The blade appeared to be made of bone, or a material like it. The hilt was wrapped in crude leather straps that were smoothed from much use. He glanced up at Coyote.

"You're kidding, right?"

Coyote wasn't grinning for once. "No, Colonel, I am not. These knives will protect you from harm in the spirit realm. They are extremely powerful talismans. Much more powerful than your guns or blades made of iron would be."

"Okay, if you say so." The Colonel still looked skeptical, but he tucked the business end of the blade between his belt and his jeans. Daniel had already done so.

"Coyote, you mentioned another talisman, one powerful enough to seal the tear in the boundary between the world and the spirit realms?"

"Yes, water-child. The three of us must still make it. For now, you two should rest while we go about our business."

Jack sat down on a boulder, scooting over to make room for Daniel when he came over. Eagle sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Why aren't you helping them make whatever they're making, Eagle? Wouldn't it be more powerful if you helped?"

Eagle flashed a glare at Jack, finally closing his eyes to meditate again. "I must save my strength for the trip. It will take all I have to get us through this."

Jack quieted, put one arm around Daniel's shoulder, and watched the other three Desert Mysteries to see what they were doing. They looked as if they were praying, but not the way any priest Jack had ever seen would pray.

/These guys probably predate Christ, anyway./

The three Desert Mysteries stamped their left feet three times, clapped their hands three times, and chanted in what Jack surmised was ancient Navajo. Finally they became engulfed in smoke, which dissipated in a sudden onslaught of icy wind. 

Raven left the circle and came over to the three beings. In her hand she held a gourd rattle. It had been died blue-black and painted with stylized pictographs of animals; the three animal forms of the Desert Mysteries that made it were represented.

"Here is your talisman, drawn from the strength of our souls. Chant the words "Keyaya aseh hanulla bosaghe" repeatedly while pointing this in the direction of the rift between the worlds from the spirit path side, and it will be sealed. We can do no more to help you."

Daniel took the rattle by its handle and repeated the phrase back to them until the four Desert Mysteries were satisfied that he had the correct pronunciation.

Finally Owl nodded. "You now speak the ancient words of the people as it was spoken when the world was young, Daniel Water-Child. It is time for you and Jack Dog-Eyes to start your journey."

"Dog-Eyes? Hey, wait a minute here! I don't have eyes like a dog! Daniel, do I?"

Daniel came up to his ruffled partner and kissed him lightly, then smiled. "Only when you're begging me for sex, then you do kind of have eyes like a dog. I love your eyes, Jack. They're one of the things that drew me to rescue you in Ireland."

"Oh, in that case, it's okay, I guess." Still, the Colonel sent a last glare at Owl before he followed Daniel up the slope of Doko'oosliid.

* * *

The trail, if you could call it that, up the lower foothill of the Navajo sacred mountain was steep and slippery with loose rock. Jack's stiff knee, the one he had hurt in Iraq, gave way when he stepped on the scree wrongly. If it hadn't been for Daniel grabbing him with the strength that was part of his selkie heritage, Jack's knee tendons might have been torn, rather than just stretched a bit.

"OOF! Damn it!" 

Daniel made the grab, saying as he did it, "You okay?"

Jack rubbed his knee with one hand and patted his worried partner with the other one. "Sure. It'll be fine in a minute. I get a worse injury whenever I try to match your acrobatics in bed."

Daniel smiled, rubbing Jack where ever his hands held. "You can match me anytime, Colonel O'Neill."

Jack steadied himself. "Can wear you out, too!" The older man patted Daniel fondly on the archeologist's shapely backside to emphasize his boast.

Eagle broke into their conversation impatiently. "Please control your over-sexed behavior. You humans are so easily distracted!"

O'Neill stood up, one hand still on Daniel's shoulder for an assist. He shot off a snarky, "You're just jealous, Birdbrain!" as he followed Daniel up the next slope. O'Neill definitely didn't like Eagle at all.

Daniel stopped once he reached the top of that slope, causing Jack to almost run into him.

"Daniel, what's..."

Jack's comments died in his mouth. The entire down side of the foothill they were on was black. Scrubby pines, shrubs, desert grasses, all of it was gone, replaced by some type of black fuzzy growth which looked lumpy where the plants had been. Or animals, for that matter.

"Nasty."

"Yeah." Daniel agreed. Turning to Eagle, he asked, "Are we supposed to actually wade through that stuff? Will it do anything to us if we do? It looks pretty toxic."

"No, you would not survive walking through this. It is inimical to all life in this world. Here we move onto the spirit paths in an alternate route, and come around to this from the back. 

"And exactly *how* do we do that?"

Eagle glared at Jack, then turned towards the darkness and started chanting. In front of their eyes, the blue-sky world that they stood in darkened. It wasn't the same shade as that which held the black stuff, but it was definitely different from Arizona.

Daniel looked around at the altered landscape. "We aren't in Arizona anymore."

"It's Kansas, Daniel, not Arizona."

The archeologist glared at his lover. "You know what I mean. Be quiet, Jack. Eagle?"

"You are correct, Daniel Water-Child. We are on a path close to the one where the breach opens into your world. We will traverse the paths to the breach, then you and O'Neill Dog-Eyes will use the talisman to close the breach."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Jack asked again.

Evil yellow eyes looked at the Colonel. "You will know when the time comes."

"Oh, for crying out loud! We can't go into the mission with that! Give us more to go on, will ya?"

"Jack," Daniel turned to his irate lover. "I trust Eagle, and this talisman that the others gave us. Look at it!" He held up the rattle for Jack to see.

The rattle was glowing like a small neon light, now that they were in the spirit paths. It's power could be seen as it sat in Daniel's hand.

"Wow! Glow in the dark?"

Daniel smiled. "Yeah. Something like that." He turned to Eagle. "Lead the way, Mighty Flyer."

Eagle smiled at Daniel. It was a hungry, predatory smile that Jack immediately wanted to wipe forcefully off the desert mystery's face.

Daniel, seeing the hunger in Eagle's face, blushed. That didn't help, though. It just made Eagle want the selkie even more.

O'Neill sighed. It never failed. Daniel attracted every predator around wherever he went, like a magnet and iron filings. Oh, well, another one to beat off. Though this one, even hurt and sick as Eagle was, might be more difficult than most. But Jack was a skilled Black Ops veteran. He'd keep this bird away from his favorite seal, if it killed him.

"Yeah, lead on, MacDuff." 

Eagle glared at Jack, then huffed up in front of them to lead the way.

* * *

The walk along the spirit paths was definitely weird. Jack saw some strange shaped creatures peaking out at them from the large trees that dotted the path they traversed. Also, the slope of the path never varied. It stayed straight and true horizontal wherever they walked. O'Neill had never seen such a straight path in all his travels.

"Daniel, did you see that?" Jack pointed to where a dark-skinned man was disappearing into the brush.

"Yes. He's been following for a while. Who is he, Eagle?"

"He is one of the great Shamans of old. When they die, they walk the spirit paths throughout eternity afterwards. It is quite an honor to be called to guard the paths."

"These guards must not have been very good at it, seeing the result of their efforts."

Eagle glared at O'Neill. "These can not stand against one of the Desert Mysteries. Their duty is to protect the paths from people inadvertently wondering into the realms while dreaming or in visions. They guide the lost spirits back to their world and their bodies again. They could not prevent what happened."

"Then if they can't stand against Bat, what makes you think that the two of us can, Eagle?"

"Because of Daniel's water-spirit powers, and the bonds the two of you share, you are more powerful than mere mortal spirits. I will be here to help you, as well."

"Isn't that reassuring." Jack mumbled.

"Jack, stop it!" Daniel ordered before Eagle could reply, causing his lover to temporarily quiet his mistrust and complaints.

/Really, Jack needs to work on these jealousy feelings. Oh, who am I kidding? I love that he's jealous as hell of me. It makes me feel secure. God, what does that say about me?/

Daniel's thoughts as he walked started making him uncomfortable, so he asked Eagle a question to distract himself.

"Eagle, why is Bat always inimical to you and the other mysteries? Isn't he one of you?"

"Yes and no, Daniel. He has the strength, the powers and the long life of one of the Desert Mysteries, but he was made by the Enemy of All Things. This creature is as powerful as Grandmother Toad, came into existance as the anti-thesis to Grandmother Toad's gentleness and love. Because of Bat's birth sire, he hates all that comes from Grandmother Toad."

Jack, who was partially ignoring the conversation so that he could threat assess their surroundings, suddenly yelled and threw himself over Daniel, covering his lover's body with his own. 

"Incoming!"

"Oof! Jack, what..."

A multi-voiced, high-pitched screech drowned out the archeologist's question as dozens of bats dove at mostly Daniel, their fanged mouths open and ready to tear the selkie's flesh. 

Eagle took out a tomahawk, one which glowed brightly, and swung at the creatures who attacked them. O'Neill used his now also glowing knife to take the flying creatures down that attacked him to get to Daniel. Daniel had the sense to lie still under Jack so as not to disturb the warrior's aim.

After many small bodies fell, wounded mortally, the rest of the bats flew off in retreat.

Jack scrambled off of his lover and helped Daniel up from where he had been flattened.

"Jack, I could have helped you! It isn't like I'm helpless!"

"For crying out loud, Daniel, those damned things were coming after you! That's a great way to thank me for saving your butt!"

Daniel's mouth snapped shut. "What? Me? Why would they attack me?" He looked over at Eagle.

"They sensed that you are the key, the wielder of the power here, Daniel Water-Child. I am weakened, but still am part of these paths as the bats were. But you, you and Jack Dog-Eyes, you are the real danger to Bat and his plans. These were his creatures, come to attempt to destroy that which may stand in his way."

It was then that Daniel noticed that Jack was injured. He had several places on his exposed arms and face that had been torn by tiny teeth. The bleeding wasn't heavy or spurting, but it was seeping steadily. The archeologist came to his lover.

"Jack, you're hurt!" His blue eyes widened with worry and shock. "God, do you think they might have rabies?"

Jack's voice was gentle as he answered his worried lover. "These are spirit bats, Danny, I doubt they have rabies. I'm fine. These just hurt like a bitch, is all."

Daniel held up his lover's arm for inspection, looking closely at the nasty cuts. "They look awful."

"Daniel, take out your knife." Eagle said quietly. "With your heritage, you have the power to heal when traveling the paths."

Daniel took out Coyote's knife. It was glowing even brighter than Jack's had when the bats were attacking.

"Put the flat of the blade against the wounds, and will the flesh to knit."

"Um, will it to knit?" 

"Yes."

The selkie took his blade in one hand and Jack's wounded arm in the other one. He laid the glowing flat of the blade against a particularly nasty gash with a hanging skin flap. He closed his eyes and thought of the skin whole and intact. A fire ran down his arm and into the knife, then Jack yelled and tried to pull his hand away. Daniel kept a tight hold on it, though, and continued the healing. The archeologist could almost feel the energy used in the healing drawing out of his body to heal Jack.

"Ow! That hurts."

"Sorry, Jack." Daniel moved over to his lover and took his hand again. "Let me see it."

Daniel ran his hand down Jack's lightly furred forearm. There weren't even signs of a scar or that a wound had been there, only a slight red mark that disappeared as he watched.

"Wow. It's gone."

Jack rubbed his arm in surprise. He looked up at his lover with a small smile. "Here, you might as well do the others. I'll just grit my teeth at the pain."

Daniel stroked O'Neill's face gently. "Tough guy."

The multiple healings were all the same. There was a brief shot of intense pain followed by a complete healing. Finally, all of the Colonel's wounds were healed. At the end of it, Daniel felt as if he had swam several miles of ocean in his man-form. 

Jack held up his cleared arms and grinned at his lover. "Sweet!" He looked closer at him and saw the drained look on Danny's face. "Hey, you okay?"

Daniel smiled wearily. "I'm fine. Just a little drained after that. I think healing with that knife uses my life energy, or something like that. Give me a minute to catch my breath, then we'll go on."

O'Neill turned to glare at Eagle. "You didn't feel it was important to tell us that healing takes Daniel's energy? I hate surprises, Eagle, especially when it affects Daniel.

"I'm really all right, Jack." Daniel broke into his lover's tirade. "Let's get going."

Reluctantly, the Colonel turned away from Eagle and started along the path again.

* * *

Bat didn't send any other creatures to attack the three of them. He saved his energy and malice for the final confrontation.

As Jack, Daniel and Eagle neared the spirit world that Bat had used to breach into their world. The sky darkened as they approached a place where the path was swallowed by the nasty dark fuzzy stuff. The closer they got, the worse the stench of the place.

"God!" Jack grimaced. "This place smells worse than an open sewer or a mass grave." 

Daniel wondered for a second when Jack had seen a mass grave. /Probably when he was in Special Ops. At least his nightmares show that.../

The archeologist wasn't able to finish his thought. A dark figure swooped in from the damaged section and knocked Daniel over. He felt something sharp at his throat ready to cut, and he used all of his strength to grab the arm? leg? talon? and hold it away from his vulnerable throat. The creature's smell was so rancid that Daniel had to fight gagging.

The overwhelmed archeologist heard a yell of rage from his lover as he fought his silent battle of strength against his opponent.

The winged creature screamed a horrible bloodthirsty cry and pushed off of Daniel. The archeologist looked up to see the beast hovering above him, black blood dripping from right wing membranes. Jack was standing between the two Mysteries, Coyote's knife dripping red gore.

"Stay away from him, asshole!" O'Neill growled, going into a crouch as he readied himself to attack again.

"Jack Dog-Eyes, STAY!"

Eagle's voice, the power in it, froze the Colonel in his place.

"I will deal with Bat. You and Daniel seal the rift! NOW!"

Eagle jumped on Bat with an ancient Navajo war cry.

Neither man was able to resist the Desert Mystery's command; it was too powerful. Jack turned and helped his lover up. Daniel hadn't escaped unscathed from the clutch of the evil being. He had gashes down both sides and a deep scratch on his face.

"You okay?"

"I'll live. Come on!" Daniel dragged his lover to the stinky fuzz and, without hesitating, moved into the contaminated area. He held the glowing rattle up in front of himself and Jack as a talisman. Every place the light of the rattle touched, the fuzz melted and turned into grass or dirt. 

By the time the two men got to the rift in the universes, it was Jack dragging a flagging Daniel along. He held his lover up as the archeologist spoke the words of power that would seal the breach forever. The talented linguist spoke them exactly as he had been taught, and Jack could feel the power being sent out from the rattle as Daniel finished the phrase. This time the ritual didn't take energy from the selkie, to O'Neill's relief.

When an exhausted Daniel finally fell silent, Jack was holding almost all of his lover's weight. Behind him he heard a fierce shriek, but couldn't turn to look with Danny in his arms. From what he could hear and see out of the corner of his eye, the two Desert Mysteries were involved in a deadly fight to the death. Jack just concentrated on holding his lover up and keeping his body between the selkie and the two combatants.

Finally Eagle dragged himself into Jack's view, and it was obvious to O'Neill that the Desert Mystery was dying.

The ancient being raised a bloody arm weakly, and an opening appeared in the now quiescent landscape. At the same time, a beam of light left Eagle's fingers and enveloped both men with heat and light suddenly.

"Go, now, before my strength wanes and the doorway closes up."

"But what about you..."

"Go, now, Dog-eyes. I have vanquished Bat, but have paid the price for it. I am dying, and there is nothing you can do to help. Save Daniel Water-Child. He is beyond price, that one."

"I know." Jack knew when it was time to move. He threw a still unconscious Daniel over his shoulder and moved to the opening. He only glanced back once as he passed the threshold, just in time to see Eagle fall to the ground, apparently unconscious or dead.

* * *

Daniel opened his eyes to a really odd sight. Jack hovered over him, and behind the soldier was a wizened old Native American man with brown eyes just like his lover's. 

Blue eyes moved from Coyote to his worried partner. "Jack? You okay?"

"I'm fine, kid. Coyote here says that Eagle healed you with the last energy he had before he died. How do you feel?"

"Fine. I'm fine. My side hurts a little. Eagle's dead?"

"Yeah. He died keeping Bat off of us while you sealed the rift."

"Poor Eagle." Daniel's blue eyes filled with water, his natural compassion coming to the fore in sadness at the death of the Desert Mystery.

Jack helped him to sit up.

"He was a hero, Danny. He saved both worlds, and our lives as well."

Daniel looked at the Desert Mysteries sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss, and for the world's loss of Eagle."

Owl grinned, a truly hideous expression on the ancient visage. "Do not mourn for Eagle, Water-Child. Look!"

From high in the sky, a huge eagle flew down to swoop onto the ground. When it landed, it became a man with yellow eyes.

Eagle stood there, no sign of injury or illness obvious. The Desert Mystery was in good health, practically glowing with it, actually.

"Water-Child, do you not know that our kind can never be killed, as long as the land survives? Eagle has been reborn into this world." Owl cackled at the cosmic joke played on the two lovers.

"Eagle?"

"I am here, Water-Child. I wish to thank you and Dog-Eyes for the part you played in saving both worlds."

"You're welcome." Jack spoke for them both. "We kinda like this world the way it is, ya know." He reached down and pulled his lover to stand up and into his arms. "Come on, Danny, let's go get our stuff. I think I'm ready to end this vacation, and go get some *real* rest!"

"Um, okay." The archeologist turned to the Desert Mysteries. "May we come visit again? I'd love to discuss some of the things you have seen in your long lives."

"You and Jack Dog-Eyes are welcome in these Lands for the rest of your lives. Come any time you wish."

As the two men walked away from the four beings, Jack whispered, "Next time you want to take me somewhere to rest up, how about taking me to a nice, unoccupied desert island or something, where we don't do anything more strenuous than making love like crazed weasels, okay?"

"Sure, Jack." Daniel took his lover's hand, his face and eyes smiling. "Welcome back, O'Neill. I've missed you."

"I've never been gone. What d'ya mean by that?"

"I'll tell you later, when we're in bed, okay?"

Jack grinned at Daniel's sexy expression. "Promise? WooHoo! What a great damned day it is, my sweet, sexy seal pup."

"Jaaaaacccck! Please stop with the sappy names! And I am not a pup!"

The End


End file.
